NEW DELHI: India's dramatic youth-led protest movement appears to have moved beyond its peak, but its impact on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government may prove considerably more lasting than the street demonstrations themselves.

The so-called Cockroach Janta Party movement began around anger over examination failures and leaked papers, but rapidly developed into a much wider expression of frustration among young Indians facing intense competition for education and government employment.

The protests became one of India's largest youth demonstrations in years, forcing the government onto the defensive. 

The most tangible victory came when Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after 36 days of demonstrations. The government also agreed to compensate families of students who died by suicide following examination scandals and dropped efforts to prosecute protesters. 

The government subsequently tightened laws against examination leaks and announced a panel to review the country's examination system. 

Those are substantial achievements for a movement that began largely outside India's traditional opposition-party structure.

But the protests have not produced a political crisis for Modi.

The prime minister remains politically dominant, while the movement's demands have largely remained concentrated on education, examinations, corruption and opportunities for young people. It has not yet developed the nationwide political organisation necessary to challenge the BJP electorally.

Indeed, the movement appears to be changing rather than disappearing.

Its organisers are now attempting to turn the protest network into a broader political and civic campaign. Supporters have been urged to examine government schools and scrutinise the delivery of public services, suggesting that the movement wants to move from protest to accountability. 

That may ultimately be more important than the demonstrations themselves.

The protests exposed a particularly sensitive weakness in India's economic success story. The country is growing rapidly and has produced a huge middle class, yet millions of young people remain trapped in a brutally competitive system for university places and government jobs. Reuters found that examination scandals have damaged faith in a system on which families often spend years and substantial amounts of money. 

The streets may be quieter now.

But the government cannot easily undo the political message the protesters delivered: India's young population is increasingly willing to challenge authority when promised opportunities fail to materialise.

The movement may therefore have peaked as a protest — but not necessarily as a political force.